Two Marines have been charged in connection to a hate-related crime on the College of Maryland, the service confirmed to Army.com. The alleged crime — which included writing racial slurs inside a residence corridor on the college — occurred final yr.
The college’s police division introduced Feb. 20 that it had charged Lance Cpl. Hayden Pritchard, 22, and Lance Cpl. Sergio Delgado, 21, after an almost yearlong investigation. The investigation started when antisemitic symbols and slurs in opposition to the Black group have been found in a dorm final spring.
A spokesperson for Marine Barracks Washington, also called eighth and I, confirmed to Army.com on Tuesday that the Marines recognized by the College of Maryland police have been those charged with the alleged crime.
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“The costs in opposition to Lance Cpl. Delgado and Lance Cpl. Pritchard replicate conduct that’s inconsistent with the exceedingly excessive requirements the USA Marine Corps expects of its Marines,” Capt. Kayla Haas, a spokesperson for Marine Barracks Washington, advised Army.com.
“Additional, such habits wouldn’t replicate the excellent conduct and professionalism displayed by the overwhelming majority of Marine Barracks Washington’s Marines and sailors. Ought to these costs be substantiated, Lance Cpl. Delgado and Lance Cpl. Pritchard will probably be held totally accountable for his or her actions,” she mentioned.
Pritchard was charged with one rely of race/spiritual property harm and trespassing. Delgado was charged with trespassing.
Haas mentioned that each Delgado and Pritchard enlisted within the Corps in 2022 as squaddies. They have been assigned to Marine Barracks Washington that very same yr. Each graduated recruit coaching from Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. The alleged crime is underneath investigation by each the Naval Prison Investigative Service and the College of Maryland Police Division, or UMPD.
The college’s police division mentioned it reviewed footage to assist discover the Marines linked to the hate-related crime. Officers with the college first responded to a “hate bias incident” on April 29. That very same day, officers returned to the dorms to seek out further racial slurs on a number of flooring of the constructing.
“Since receiving the preliminary experiences, our detectives labored diligently on this investigation by reviewing video footage, following up on leads, and extra,” a press launch from UMPD final week mentioned. “Due to their steady investigation, we have been in a position to establish the suspects concerned and convey costs.”
FOX 5 in Washington, D.C., was first to report the costs in opposition to two males, however their identities as Marines weren’t identified till now.
Marine Barracks Washington is the oldest active-duty publish within the Marine Corps, in accordance with its web site. It’s also the service’s most public-facing unit and is dwelling to the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Marine Band, the Marine Corps Colour Guard, and the Marine Corps Physique Bearers — all of which serve essential capabilities within the Washington, D.C., space.
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